A trial began Wednesday for three men facing hate crime and malicious mischief charges for allegedly defacing the “Friendship Fence” in Chehalis earlier this year.
The three suspects, identified as Frank John B. Bagley II, 40, of Seattle, Matthew A. Clement, 33, of Centralia, and Gabriel R. Smith-Nilsen, 25, of Driggs, Idaho, were arrested in Centralia early in the morning on Sunday, Feb. 25, after a neighbor saw them defacing the Friendship Fence in Chehalis and followed them as they fled in a dark-colored Subaru station wagon.
Officers found a stencil “covered in multicolored paint and had the words ‘Patriotfront’ as the cutout for the sign,” as well as a blue bag containing “several pieces of White Lives Matter and … literature and propaganda stickers” inside the vehicle the suspects were in when Centralia police arrested them on Feb. 25.
The suspects have been out of custody on $20,000 bail each soon after their preliminary hearings on Feb. 26. They were still out of custody as of Sept. 25.
Bail for one of the suspects, Bagley, was posted by a former Centralia business owner with ties to the white supremacist group Asatru Folk Assembly.
Chehalis residents were able to clean the black paint off of the fence before it could dry, but the Chehalis Police Department initially estimated that damage to the fence exceeded $1,500. Repair costs ultimately did not exceed $750, according to court documents.
While the three co-defendants were each initially charged with second-degree malicious mischief, which requires damage to exceed $750, the charges were reduced to third-degree malicious mischief before trial.
Each co-defendant is being tried on one count of third-degree malicious mischief, which is a gross misdemeanor punishable by up to 364 days in prison; and commission of a hate crime, which is a class C felony punishable by up to 5 years in prison.
Bagley, who goes by the alias “Chad WA,” is a known neo-Nazi organizer for the White Lives Matter campaign and a former member of the Patriot Front, a white supremacist and neo-fascist hate group, according to online watchdog group WA Nazi Watch.
Bagley is also allegedly connected to the theft of 75 Pride flags in Burien in 2022.
Clement, also known as “Jack WA,” is a known member of the Patriot Front who was allegedly connected to the October 2021 destruction of the “‘Respect & Love Olympia” mural in Olympia, according to Unicorn Riot. Two members of the Patriot Front ultimately faced misdemeanor charges for the vandalism.
The Chronicle has been unable to find publicly available information online about Smith-Nilsen’s background.
Trial will continue through at least Friday, Sept. 27.
